Jeton Sopa recounts attack during protest: They surrounded, pushed and hit me

Journalist Jeton Sopa has reacted to the attack that, according to him, took place during today’s protest near the Kosovo Assembly.

He said he had gone to follow the Assembly session, but while standing near the protesters, he faced insults and threats. Some of them accused him of being a friend of Fatmir Sheholli.

Sopa said that, even after showing those individuals his KLA veteran’s card, the situation did not calm down. According to him, he was surrounded, grabbed, pushed and hit by several people.

The journalist said he was at a police station, waiting to report the incident. He linked the attack to his work as a journalist and to the publication of investigations and facts about abuses.

Sopa wrote that attempts to intimidate or silence him through threats and attacks would not succeed.

In his account, the journalist said that at around 10:00 he had gone to follow the session of the Kosovo Assembly.

Initially, he went to the official entrance of the Assembly, which journalists usually use. Police told him that he could not pass through because protesters had blocked the entrance and directed him to the other entrance, on the side of the municipality.

At the other entrance as well, according to him, police did not allow him to enter the Assembly grounds. For this reason, Sopa stayed in the area between the protesters and the police, where journalists were also present.

After several minutes, several people wearing hats bearing the words “Freedom has a name” began insulting him and threatening him with expressions that, he said, he could not repeat.

They told him to leave, calling him a friend of “UDB operative” Fatmir Sheholli. One of them also took a KLA logo sticker, apparently to see whether he would put it on.

Sopa said he took the logo politely and placed it on his jacket, near his heart. He then told them that he was a former KLA soldier and that participating in the war was the greatest pride of his life.

To prove this, the journalist took out his KLA veteran’s card and showed it to the people who had surrounded him. He told them that they had mistaken him for someone else and that he was not a friend of Fatmir Sheholli.

Knowing that a crowd can quickly turn violent and having experience in such situations, Sopa said that he did not respond with insults or threats. He said he remained calm in front of them.

Since police were present, he made it clear that he was following only their orders and that he was there in his capacity as a journalist. Sopa asked them to leave him alone so he could carry out his duty.

According to his account, the individuals did not stop. “They grabbed me, pushed me and hit me,” the journalist wrote.

He said that at that moment he was at the police station, waiting to report the incident.

After publicizing the incident, Sopa said he had received dozens of pieces of information about the people who attacked him. According to him, he now had a fairly clear idea of who might be behind the attack.

The journalist linked the incident to his investigative work and the publication of facts about the thefts and machinations of people who, according to him, lead protests under the KLA logo.

He stressed that they were mistaken if they thought they could stop the truth through such threats and attacks, because the truth does not fear lies and deception.

Sopa added that he feared cowards who attack the truth.

Unable to respond to everyone individually, the journalist thanked all those who had publicly supported him and those who had written to him privately.

“Thank you! 🙏❤️”